Holly Holm improved to 6-0 with a victory over Angela Hayes. |
Will Fox/Sherdog.com

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- For the first time in her brief mixed martial
arts career, Holly Holm saw
the judges’ scorecards in a fight. Judging by the results, she
liked the deeper waters just fine.

Holm earned her sixth consecutive professional MMA victory on
Friday night at the Route 66 Casino, taking a clear-cut unanimous
decision over Angela Hayes
in the bantamweight headliner at Fresquez
Productions “Havoc.” Judges Mark
Sanchez, Raul Porrata and Levi Martinez
all scored the bout 30-27 in favor of Holm, who had earned her
previous five victories by knockout or technical knockout. Hayes
falls to 6-7 in defeat.

In previous efforts, Holm often overwhelmed her opposition with a
kickboxing-heavy approach. This time the Jackson’s MMA standout was
able to showcase a few other aspects of her game, including a
little bit of ground-and-pound.

“She had a good clinch and on the ground she made it hard for me to
tee off on her. It’s the first time I’ve been there (the ground) in
a fight,” Holm said.

The opening round proved to be the most difficult, as Hayes was
able to close the distance and force Holm into a grinding battle in
the clinch. Still, Holm appeared to be the stronger fighter and was
able to control the struggle for positioning, tossing the
Colorado-based fighter to the floor late in the frame.

Holm was able to find her range in round two, connecting with a
variety of accurate kicks to the knees, legs and body. The New
Mexico native appeared to hurt Hayes with a pair of hard body kicks
late in the frame, but the 40-year-old Rough House MMA &
Fitness representative made it to the end of the period.

A steady diet of low kicks to Hayes’ lead leg were Holm’s weapon of
choice early in round three. Later, Hayes showcased admirable
resilience by remaining upright after absorbing back-to-back head
kicks from the former world champion boxer. When a wobbly Hayes
attempted to clinch out of sheer desperation, Holm dragged her to
the mat and moved into full mount, where she attacked with measured
ground-and-pound. One final takedown in the waning seconds capped
off the victory.

It was the longest time Holm had spent on the ground in her caged
career to date.

“I’m glad it went there. Even toward the end of the third I
thought, ‘Oh my God, just try a takedown and see.’ I need to really
just believe in myself with some of that stuff,” she said. “It was
great to be able to go on the ground a little bit and I felt all
right being there.”

In the cage after the bout, Holm spoke only briefly about an
eventual move to the UFC.

“I want to take whatever opportunity that’s in front of me that’s
the best,” she said.

In the evening’s co-headliner, Cody East
overwhelmed Esteves
Jones with a barrage of strikes against the fence in the
opening round of their heavyweight tilt. Jones wilted under East’s
assault 1:51 into the initial stanza.

East began the contest by slamming his opponent to the canvas and
landing knees to the body. It was when Jones returned to his feet,
however, that the real damage was done. Two right hands and a
series of knees had Jones reeling, and East did not relent, finally
dropping his man with another right hand and sealing the deal with
strikes on the ground.

“I knew if I just touched him with this right hand he’s gonna go to
sleep. That’s my patent,” said East, the reigning King of the Cage
heavyweight champ. Elsewhere, Chuck
Pieritz rode takedowns, positional control and ground-and-pound
to a unanimous decision over Cris Leyva in a
welterweight affair. Judges Raul Porrata and Levi Martinez
scored it 30-27 for Pieritz, while Mark Sanchez
submitted a 29-28 tally in favor of the Jackson’s MMA fighter.

A natural featherweight, Pieritz delivered a total of eight
takedowns in the bout. While Leyva had some success with kicks in
the early going, it didn’t take long for Pieritz to assert himself
with wrestling. On the canvas, Pieritz landed vicious knees to the
body and passed his opponent’s guard on multiple occasions. “When I
came in I was a wrestler, now they’re teaching me how to fight,”
said Pieritz, who has been at Jackson’s MMA for approximately nine
months. Earlier, Gabriel
Benitez halted a two-fight skid with a second-round technical
knockout of a game Rey Trujillo
in a featherweight bout. The end came 3:25 into the second period
as the Mexican fighter unloaded on Trujillo with a series of
unanswered right hands on the canvas.

Benitez, who came in two-and-a-half pounds overweight, got all he
could handle from Trujillo in the contest’s first five minutes. The
Houston-based fighter countered Benitez’s kicks effectively and
even stunned the Jackson’s MMA product with a right hand near the
fence. Trujillo’s offensive arsenal included a cartwheel kick and a
spinning back elbow, both of which missed their intended
target.

Trujillo slowed down considerably in the second frame. A failed
takedown attempt resulted in a nasty kick to the body from Benitez,
who then unloaded with right hands as his foe turtled up near the
fence.

Jackson’s MMA flyweight prospect Nick Urso earned
his sixth consecutive victory, stopping Jesus Urbina
with strikes just 19 seconds into their flyweight bout. Urso
clipped his opponent with a right hand almost immediately, then
followed Urbina to the ground with a barrage of follow-up punches.
Referee Robert Romero then stepped in to halt the bout, much to the
dismay of both Urbina and his corner.

“I will fight all night; I will fight until someone pulls me off,”
Urso said. “I could feel a limp body. It is what it is, there isn’t
much more I can do.”

Clint
Roberts first professional appearance in 18 months lasted just
38 seconds, as the Jackson’s MMA product stopped Eduard
Gamboa due to a cut in the opening frame. After an early
exchange, Roberts landed a knee, tied his man up and drove him into
the corner. With Gamboa bleeding profusely from the bridge of his
nose, referee Stan Saavedra paused the welterweight bout so the
cageside physician could examine the wound. Moments later, the
contest was halted.

“His nose is broke bad, but he didn’t go down at all. So hat’s off
to him; he’s tough. I think the doctor quit that one for him,”
Roberts said.

Three amateur bouts began the card: Kelly Westby
captured a unanimous verdict over Matthew Baca (30-27, 30-27,
30-27) at lightweight; Nate
Armstrong pounded out a TKO victory over Anthony
Morales 2:50 into the opening frame at featherweight; and
Jerome
Rivera submitted Ricky
Esquibel with a rear-naked choke at the 2:21 mark of round one
at 125 pounds.